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To: LindyBill who wrote (100504)	2/15/2005 3:25:28 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793757

Counterterrorism blog - Counterterrism Leadership Keeps Revolving By Michael B. Kraft The Writer is a former Senior Advisor in the State Department Counterterrorism Office and served under both Ambassadors Black and Taylor and half a dozen others. Cofer Black, the former State Department Counterterrorism Coordinator who retired abruptly after the November elections, has resurfaced for the first time with a new formulation for describing the terrorism threat. In his first interview since retiring from government, the pithy former ambassador said that there is no 100 per cent guarantee against future terrorist attacks. He told MSNBC’S Chris Mathews on Monday night’s “Hardball” program that the terrorism threat should be looked at like an insurance policy, with a deductible. He said we should do everything humanly possible to minimize the dangers of major terrorist attacks but we cannot expect 100 percent coverage. During the election campaign, Republicans strongly criticized Sen. John Kerry, Democratic presidential candidate, for daring to suggest that terrorism can be brought to manageable levels that can be lived with, in the same manner that ordinary crime can be reduced but not completely eliminated. Ambassador Black announced to his staff on election day that he was retiring in two weeks. He had not been heard from for a while, prompting jokes that he may have gone back undercover to the CIA where he had previously headed its counterterrorism center. However, he recently disclosed that he was going into the private sector, and has joined Blackwater Security Consultants. In another turnover in the government’s counterterrorism leadership, the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, Francis Taylor, is retiring this week to join General Electric. Taylor, a former Air Force Brigadier General had been Black’s predecessor as head of the Counterterrorism office. The two had very different styles. Taylor was very detail oriented, devoured memos and was very interested in programs. Black, was more flamboyant, preferred verbal briefings and did not seem to relish supervising training programs . No replacements have been named for either man. Since the colorful Black left in November, the Counterterrorism Office has been headed by the former principal deputy coordinator, William Pope, a low-key foreign service officer. The departures of Black and Taylor from the State Department plus the former Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, means that three of the government’s top counterterrorism officials have left within the past four months. Also, Bobby Charles, the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) abruptly resigned this month. INL works with the counterterrorism office on some issues, especially those related to countering terrorism financing. Meanwhile, Liz Cheney, the daughter of the Vice President, is expected to be named the new Principal Deputy in the key Near East Bureau. Veteran diplomats say that it is unprecedented for a political appointee without embassy managerial experience to be appointed the number one deputy of a geographic bureau. She previously served as one of several deputies in the Near East Bureau before resigning in 2003 to work in the Republican election campaign. The appointment is another sign that the Rice-Bush-Cheney team is taking tighter control over the State Department following Colin Powell’s departure.

To: LindyBill who wrote (100504)	2/15/2005 6:40:38 AM
From: JDN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793757

Frankly, I dont even remember the names of the most of the rejected nominees, but I do remember they all had high marks from the ABA (american bar association), and were well qualified. It was WRONG the way they were treated and hopefully we will find a way to treat all nominees fairly and be judged on their abilities and their ethics, including INTERPRETING Law not MAKING IT. jdn

To: LindyBill who wrote (100504)	2/15/2005 10:03:38 AM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793757

"We should not divert attention from other pressing issues facing this nation to redebate the merits of nominees already found too extreme by this chamber," he said. Sen. Harry Reid is a liar. None of the seven judicial nominees just resubmitted by President Bush have ever received an up-or-down vote on the floor of the United States Senate. None of them were voted down by "this chamber." It's always nice to see someone taking a stand against the substitution of, er, extenstoin for fact... <ggg>